A Delhi Government-appointed magisterial probe has observed that police had “doubts” incorporating the ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogan in the FIR registered in connection with the controversial JNU event in the absence of any substantive evidence.
The report has “questioned” whether this particular slogan was “raised” at all as neither it can be clearly heard in the Zee News ran footage nor in the transcripts of the videos shot by the security staff of JNU.
“This shows the doubts in the mind of police personnel regarding the raising of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogan and ‘who raised the slogans’,” the report prepared by New Delhi District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar noted.
The report also offers conflicting views on the role of police in handling the February 9 event against the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. The same report praises and later criticises the police.
The Chapter 4 of the report on the ‘sequence of events’ stated that local police performed its task “nicely” by first coming in civil dress to understand the situation without unnecessarily “aggravating” it with their presence.
“Later on, when situation was going out of control, police entered and allowed the completion of the event without using any force or letting the situation go out of their control,” it said.
Although in Chapter 8, the one that deals with the content of the FIR registered in connection with the case, it said that though police witnessed the whole event, “it did nothing” to prevent the occurrence of any cognisable crime as per the duty cast upon it under section 151 of the CrPC.
“Police erred on the sides of the students. Passions were running high when one news channel circulated the alleged raising of the ‘anti-national’ slogans in JNU,” it says.
According to the probe report, anti-national slogans were shouted at the campus and JNU administration has already identified “few faces” who were “clearly” heard raising them. The probe panel said their whereabouts must be found out and their role must be investigated.
The probe said Umar Khalid was visible in many videos and that his “support” for Kashmir and Guru was known. He was the organiser of the event and his role should be further investigated, it said.
Many outsiders of Kashmiri descent with their faces covered were seen in videos shouting anti-India slogans and pro-Afzal Guru slogans and their identity and role need to be investigated, the report also said.
“It may be difficult to arrive conclusively whether other four students have shouted anti-national slogans or not but it was visible and heard beyond doubt that ‘these outsiders and possibly Kashmiri students’ were heard raising anti-national slogans,” it said.